Reflections on Caracas...

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Ok, the capital of this country is ABSOLUTELY INSANE. Seriously, it may be because I haven´t spent a lot of time in a city sooo large, but I just felt completely lost and confused. Haha, it wasn´t all bad - the host family that I was staying with was just the most amazing family - a single mother raising her 3 daughters, 16, 7, and 5 in a city where you can´t go out after dark for fear of robbery, kidnapping or assault. Yikes. But she´s doing it so fabulously that when you´re in her 2-bedroom apartment you´d NEVER imagine that you´re in the middle of a crazy city. The official tally is at about 5 million people, but NOBODY believes that... it is actually impossible to count the people, as they´re packed into everywhere and anywhere like sardines! The unofficial count is at about 8million, and rising... and it really wouldnt surprise me if there were even more! The unemployment has skyrocketed to wayyy over 50%... I think I read somewhere it´s around 70%... and many people depend on the informal sector for their livelyhood. For examplë people have created an entire business of setting up tables and ´selling´cellphone time. You pay a small fee to make a call on their cell... less than a payphone, and more than the average airtime you get charged on the cellphone.

The money: hoooooly crap another of the INSANITIES of this country!. Venezuelans use Bolivares. Now, you may ask, ´how many BS for one US dollar´ and i would reply ´that´s a damn good question´. No one really knows. Seriously, it changes EVERY day. Chavez (the current president, and the one who is probably going to get re-elected on the 3rd of December, legally or not) hates the USA. As you all probably remember at a UN convention he called G.W.Bush the ´devil´. Ahaha, as funny as that is - it has pissed a whoooole lotta people off. He is trying to reduce the influence of the US in Venezuela, and is trying to keep the US dollar OUT of the country. All that this does is create a Black Market for the USD and continues in the devaluation of the BS. So while the ´official´ exchange rate for the USD is around 2150.00 BS (yes, that is over two thousand Bolivares!), the black market rate can reach as high as 3200.00BS!!! That´s just an insane difference- that´s losing 1/3 on every dollar you change legally!
Needless to say, we found someone to do it illegally, and I managed to get a rate of 2800.00BS:1USD out of him. But man-o-man did I pay for it emotionally. It was such a sketchy deal! We sat at a table in a restaurant and he made sure I wasnt trying to sell him fake money... and then pulled a massive wad of cash out of his groin! Haha, he made me count it like 5 times and then kept trying to push me into changing more. He was from Nigeria and needed USD to get a VISA to get into the States.
People want USD. It´s the only currency that people can be sure of - an account with a million Bolivares (about 50 thousand US at the official rate) can be worth that one month... and the next month be worth only 1/2 of that, or less. And there´s nothing they can do.. it´s all subject to the government and their fluctuating economy!

Ok, that´s all I have to say about that for now. Personally I´m doing fabulously... can´t believe I´m finally here, but of course missing my mike, my friends and my family. you guys are so amazing! Thank you for all your support!!
Callie

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Comments

[Mom]

Me
Hi C. Just catching up on all your writings. Can't believe the mayhem that must be all around you. Can't believe you're actually making your way safely through it all. Do hope you're keeping a personal journal (we'll keep printing our your blogs). Give a mother's love to all those other mothers who are watching out for and teaching you - I'm grateful to them. I used to comfort myself with the thought that I couldn't do all the raising of my children by myself, that it takes a community. Little did I know that, for you, it would take the whole bloody world!! Love you lots, Mom